Lucy Vs Australopiths

Ardipithecus has been discovered, an Ancestor that dates back prior to the remains of Lucy. In the article written by Ann Gibbons and others, it dives into the discovery of our most ancient ancestor and the clues given to us from all 110 remains that have been found of A. ramidus. First let me begin with Lucy whose remains were found in 1974 and that dated back to 3.2 million years ago. These skeletal remains gave us the evidence needed to prove that our ancient ancestors were bipedal before evolving their big brains. After Lucy was discovered the scientist found themselves with even more questions, such as, were any previous ancestors before Lucy bipedal or did

Australopithecus Afarensis: Even longer face, cranial capacity looks even more disproportionate with face, cheekbones are very distinctive

2) Lucy is a collection of fossils from an early hominid species that is over 3 million years old. Lucy's fossils were discovered in Ethiopia, and Lucy was also very short compared to the average modern

As her named suggests, Lucy came from the Australopithecus genus, and was a member of the Hominini tribe, just like

Ardipithecus and other early Australopithecines lived in a habitat much wetter than the environment of Aramis, Ethiopia today. The set for scene one could at times experience a “rain fall,” and should include a woodland habitat with patches of denser forest and an abundant amount of monkeys just as what would have been seen between five and three million years ago. In 1992, an expedition led by Tim White of the University of California, Berkeley discovered the fossil of Ardipithecus ramidus, dating back to 4.4 million years ago. The skeleton nicknamed “Ardi” ended up weighing around 112 pounds, stood almost four feet tall, (somewhat larger than a male chimpanzee but smaller than a female gorilla) and was most likely a female. Ardi’s ape sized brain has a cranial capacity of only 300 to 350 CC.

1. How did Australopithecus differ from other mammals? Australopithecus is differ from other mammals by Australopithecus lived from 4 million to 1 million B.C. ago, found in southern and Eastern Africa, have brain size of 500 cubic centimeters, and they are the first creature to know how to walk upright. 2.

In terms of lower limb proportions comparing Australopithecines and Paranthropus, only a few post cranial remains have been discovered. Comparing the post cranial remains of these genera to those of modern day non-human and human apes can give great insight to the locomotion and stature of Paranthropus and Australopithecines.

The earliest known and accepted fossils are categorized as Australopithecus or the southern ape. A well known and famous fossil known as Lucy belongs to this fossil group, fossils of Australopithecus's have been found in areas such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Chad, and South Africa and are dated as far back as 4.2 - 2.3 MYA. These primates are known as bipedal apes meaning they walked upright, members of this primate group also had facial features that were apelike, had brains half the size of chimpanzees, and weighed on average of one-hundred and five pounds. It is thought these primates adapted to arboreal and terrestrial environments because dental exams of their teeth indicate a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and leaves. On the contrary members of the Paranthropus primates have fossils that have also been recognized these fossils have been found in places like: Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa which are dated as far back as 2.8 - 1MYA. This species was thought

The changes in morphology that resulted from selection for bipedalism included a readjustment of the pelvis and changes in the major locomotive muscle attachments. Habitual bipedalism necessitated a reduction in the gap between the sacroiliac joint and acetabulum, with a reduced sagittal breadth. Though the pelvis of early hominids differs from that of modern humans, but still had the traits necessary for habitual bipedalism. The Australopithecine pelvis is more similar to humans than to chimpanzees (Lovejoy, 1988): The blade of the illium is longer and wider in chimpanzees than in Australopithecus or Homo. This obvious difference is due to the functions of the pelvis in each species’ body, like being a weight bearing bone versus. Australopithecus afarensis, particularly Lucy, had a mosaic of anatomical traits featuring both human and apelike features. The short pelvis and broad iliac blades which curve around the side forming the area of gluteal muscle attachment confirmed that Au. afarensis was at least a habitual biped (Lovejoy,

After reviewing the evidence, I believe that Dr. Donald Johanson is correct in his theory that Lucy is the missing link between ape and man. The anatomy of Lucy supports Johanson’s claim. The knee joint of Lucy had an outward slanting angle away from the knee just like humans. Lucy reconstructed pelvis with its short and curved ilium indicates bipedal human qualities. Unlike the Piltdown man, Lucy stood the test of time, Johanson’s fossils through potassium argon dating was found to be at least 3-million-years-old proving the integrity of Johanson’s find. Similar archeological finds also validate Lucy. The 1976 Laetoli footprints support the theory that there were hominids walking upright during the time of Lucy. In 1924, Raymond discovered the Tuang child in South Africa, it displays similar qualities of Lucy, small brain and bipedal abilities. Additional finds by Robert Broom, Richard Leakey, and many other creditable paleoanthropologists further prove Johanson correct.

The book identifies “Lucy” as an ancient demonstration of bipedalism and a bowl-shaped pelvis. Her species, Australopithecus afarensis, had both ape-like and human features. The adaptations she exhibited are an example a further branching off of species. Aside from bone structure, I found it logical that early hominids

The overall stature of Australopithecines compared to of that of Paranthropus, is smaller. Based on the estimates of Johanson and Edgar, 2006; Jungers, 1988, I created a table (Figure 1) illustrating the size of both genera. The average weight of a male in the genus Australopithecines is 43 kg and for Paranthropus is 44.5 kg. The average weight of a female in the genus Australopithecines is 29.5 kg and for Paranthropus is 33 kg. The average male height for Australopithecines is 1.45 m and for Paranthropus it is 1.35 m. The average female height for genus Australopithecines is 1.10 m and for the genus Paranthropus it is 1.15 m. Both genera have sexual dimorphism, where the females are of smaller stature and weight. This type of sexual dimorphism

Bipedalism is one of the big six events that happened in the evolution of humans becoming what we are today. Bipedalism means standing, walking on two feet rather than walking on four feet like the other apes our primate family tree. To understand why humans walk using bipedalism anthropologist must look into the past. One of the most significant fossil evidence of bipedalism is a fossil named “Lucy”. Lucy was found in East Africa. She is an adult female that stood at about three and a half feet. Lucy is a significant find because she was the most complete fossil. Forty percent of her body was found, making her the most complete fossil for bipedalism. It is accepted that there is a close relation to the environment for the reason to why there

The definition of primitive is “relating to, denoting, or preserving the character of an early stage in the evolutionary or historical development of something” (Google definition). In initial stages of human existence, bipedalism was an efficient form of movement across long distances, this allowed the use of hands to carry items or to fight and hunt. Bipedalism might have smoothed the way for other adaptations such as tool use, cognitive skills, even the development of language. “Hominids that came after Lucy, such as Homo habilis from 2.5 million years ago or Homo erectus, from 1.8 million years ago, perhaps exhibited some of these traits. They each certainly possessed a larger skull -- and thus the potential for a larger brain -- than Lucy

First of all, Lucy had many traits to her physically and structurally. Lucy is an ape like human who was found in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago. She was discovered by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray in November 24, 1974. She was named after the song “Lucy in The Sky with Diamond.” Only 40% of her skeleton was found. She was pronounced as a full grown adult by the evidence of the wisdom teeth, but she only stood at 3 ½ feet.